Baseball

OC Rivalry Renewed This Weekend In Irvine

April 13, 2012

Fullerton, Calif. -
The Titans (21-11, 5-1) will ry to maintain their status atop the Big West Conference standings this weekend as they head down the freeways of Orange County to face the Anteaters (17-12, 3-3) of UC Irvine at Anteater Ballpark Friday through Sunday.

The series has been a key one over the last several seasons with the winner eventually taking home the league title (CSF 2008, 2010, 2011; UCI 2009).

This is Fullerton's first Big West road series of the year after opening up with Cal State Northridge and UC Davis at Goodwin Field. The Titans have a 1-game lead over second place Santa Barbara, Cal Poly and Long Beach State (all are 4-2 in Big West play). Irvine is currently in 5th place at 3-3. The Anteaters have swept Pacific and were swept in San Luis Obispo by Cal Poly.

There has been just one series sweep in the all-time series by either team since Irvine's program was reinstated in 2002. The Titans swept then-No. 21 UCI in 2004 at Anteater Ballpark, went on to win the Big West Conference by five games and then continue a run that ended win the school hoisting its fourth national championship trophy at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Sunday's game will be nationally televised by ESPNU as a part of their 2012 college baseball package. The Titans are 2-2 this year in televised games (1-2 at Florida and 1-0 at San Diego State).

FOLLOW THE GAMES: All four games this week will have free audio broadcasts provided live as the action unfolds at fullertontitans.com. To hear the games presented with our audio partner Stretch Internet, go to our website and click the headphones in the upper right hand corner of your browser - that applies from both your computer or your iPhone and Android smart phones. There will also be video streams of Friday and Saturday's games by the subscription-based BigWest.TV, with Sunday's game being televised nationally by ESPNU. There will also be GameTracker coverage for each games. Just click the GT mark in the rotating scoreboard on the home page of fullertontitans.com, or find the link on the baseball schedule page, and track most all of college baseball in just a few clicks of the mouse.

VERSUS THE ANTEATERS: Fullerton is 71-24 all-time against UC Irvine dating back to the 1976 season. UCI's program was reinstated in 2002 after a 10-year hiatus, and Fullerton has gone 21-13 against them, 7-2 with John Savage as their head coach, 7-6 with Dave Serrano as their head coach and 7-5 with current head coach Mike Gillespie at the helm. Fullerton holds advantages both at home (32-15) and on the road (34-8) including edges at Goodwin Field (11-9) and Anteater Ballpark (12-4). Fullerton holds a 62-22 all-time conference record (SCBA and Big West) against the Anteaters and a 39-18 all-time in Big West play. The two teams met up in the postseason just once, and that was in the 2007 College World Series, where they set the record for the longest game (time) ever played at the CWS. Irvine won the game 5-4 in extra innings and eliminated the Titans from the series. Last year, Fullerton won the series, two games to one (3-15, 2-1, and 10-4) and included a series win on Sunday in front of an national TV audience on ESPNU. Michael Lorenzen was the star of the game with a go-ahead 3-run triple in the fifth inning and a pair of defensive gems that saved extra bases and runs.